Sunday, May 09, 2010

The Results are in: Philly Beer Runners are ready for Philly Beer Week 2010

The weather forecast only delivered the strong winds on Saturday, not the thunderstorms. Those drifted a bit to the north instead and we were left with a bright and pleasant day to meet at Resurrection Ale House and go for a 5+ mile run through the City. If you've been keeping up with these things around here, you should be able to piece together that we crazy folk that enjoy running and good beer (and typically in that order) have met up in March (Dock Street), April (TJs), and now May (Resurrection) and embarked on runs that have earned points that are being banked for Philly Beer Week. On Sunday, June 13th I'm again (for the third year) conducting a big Run that will end at Dock Street Brewery. Last year, almost 60 runners turned out for a memorable Dock Street-to-Dock Street Scavenger Run. A twist this year is that there will be a cookout and live band awaiting the runners finish at the brewery. Many more points can be earned by coming out to this final run and prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in terms of accumulated points. But, back to the present. Most of you don't have the bandwidth, I'm sure, for conversations about running, so I'll leave it at: we came, we ran, we ate lunch and drank beer, and socialized. I'll focus on the latter, because I think that's why most of you stop by here, eh? I'd previously been to Memphis Taproom and Local 44, the older siblings of Resurrection Ale House. This was finally my first stop in at Resurrection. Situated on the corner of Grays Ferry Avenue and Catherine Street across from the (Toll Brothers) Naval Square residential development, Resurrection is a much-welcome addition to a neighborhood that has been slowly taking on a new-and-improved reputation. The bi-level restaurant is cozy with room for ten or so seated around the bar and, wild guess, 25-30 (?) at dining room tables. But adding a sense of space to the place is not only the tiered dining room, but also the large folding windows that open out to Catherine Street, giving a view of the Grays Ferry Avenue street scene. I put away a nice and hearty post-run frittata with peppers, asparagus, and parmesan for a steal at ten dollars. As a matter of fact, hardly anything goes above the $10-$12 range on either the brunch, lunch, or dinner menus. All draft beer on the menu seemed to fall between the $4-$5 range per pint. I opted first for a lighter bodied, lighter carbonated (on the hand pump) Uncle Teddy's from Victory before moving on to a Yards Saison (keeping it local and tasty). After a couple of hours of running, eating/drinking, and talking PBW, PLCB/Law reform, running, and the Phillies, we split up and I walked back to 30th Street Station to catch a train home. Which reminds me of a tip: Anyone taking the train into the City to get to Resurrection Ale House, (on a nice weather day) you'd be cheating yourself if you didn't walk along the Schuylkill River Trail to get to RAH...it's approximately 1 mile, but oh-so-scenic and relaxing. Plus, it takes you past charming Fitler Square and Grays Ferry Avenue co-conspirator Grace Tavern along the way.

No comments: